The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Perry Riehl doesn't necessarily oppose a planned subdivision expansion in Creighton. He just wonders whether prospective homebuilders are ready to pay $60,000 a pop for new residential lots set to open on Collins Street next year. 'That's out of a lot of people's price range,' says Riehl, a Creighton resident. He is not alone in his concerns. While there is broad agreement that Creighton needs more residential lots, the $60,000 price tag has some worried that the town is pricing itself out of the market. The town expects to spend just over $1.5 million to develop 15 new lots on what is now bushland at the north end of Collins Street. The lots will be large, similar to those that host the big, high-end homes that have filled up Collins Street in recent years. The town put $600,000 into a reserve fund for the expansion project last year. This year's budget includes another $750,000, with the remainder to be paid out in 2014, when the lots are expected to go on sale. Even with a $60,000 price tag, the lots are subsidized by Creighton taxpayers with the hope that once homes are built, the resultant tax income will over time pay for the project _ and then some. Mayor Bruce Fidler, a strong proponent of the expansion, has no problem with the asking price. 'My opinion is that is very reasonable,' he said. Ald. Darren Grant said lots cost money to develop and 'there's nothing you can do about it.' Town council likes how the price of the lots stack up to serviced residential properties in other Saskatchewan communities. The cost of a new serviced lot in La Ronge, council says, is upwards of $75,000. In a place like Saskatoon, prices climb to $100,000 or much higher. But not everyone thinks it's fair to compare Creighton with the La Ronges and Saskatoons of the world. Riehl says that a few years back, Creightonites were paying $60,000 for an entire home. Even today, some relatively modest homes in Creighton, and perhaps more so Flin Flon, continue to sell for $60,000 or less. Mayor Fidler said the town's asking price has not stopped people from showing an interest in the lots. What remains to be seen is whether that early interest translates into purchases _ and more residents for Creighton.
